Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It has offices in Long Beach, California, United States, and Seoul, South Korea. The organization rescues refugees hiding in China and resettles them in South Korea or the United States, so that they can avoid being forcibly repatriated back to North Korea, where they can face harsh punishments. The refugees first travel from China to Southeast Asia through what the organization calls an "Underground Railroad", and then on to South Korea where they are recognized as refugees.
People defect from North Korea for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. North Koreans flee to various countries, mostly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers".
Jang Song-thaek was a North Korean politician. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, the only daughter of North Korean premier Kim Il Sung and his first wife Kim Jong-suk, and only sister of North Korean general secretary Kim Jong Il. He was therefore the uncle of the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.
Durihana North Korea Mission is a defector aid Christian organization based in South Korea. The organization assists North Korean defectors escape from North Korea and China, often by helping refugees to pay their "brokers" fee, which allows them to cross borders. The group also provides migrants with temporary hideouts and helps them move to more secure areas. Durihana has been recognized as one of the main South Korean NGOs involved in aiding North Korean defectors in China.
On March 17, 2009, North Korean soldiers detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S.-based independent television station Current TV, after they crossed into North Korea from China without a visa. They were found guilty of illegal entry and sentenced to twelve years' hard labor in June 2009. The North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned the two on August 5, 2009, the day after the former U.S. president Bill Clinton arrived in the country on a publicly unannounced visit.
Robert Park is a Korean-American missionary, musician, and human rights activist. A peace advocate and supporter of Korean reunification, he is a founding member of the nonpartisan Worldwide Coalition to Stop Genocide in North Korea and a frequent columnist for South Korea's largest English newspaper, The Korea Herald. In December 2009 he was detained in North Korea for illegal entry after crossing the Sino-Korean border on Christmas Day to protest against the country's human rights situation. He was released in February 2010 after being detained for 43 days. He reported having suffered torture during his detention.
An Hyuk is a North Korean defector.
Human trafficking in North Korea extends to men, women, and children for the purpose of forced labour, and/or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker.
The Tower is a 2012 South Korean disaster thriller film about a fire that breaks out in a luxury skyscraper in central Seoul on Christmas Eve after an aviation accident involving a helicopter. The film is directed by Kim Ji-hoon, and stars Sol Kyung-gu, Son Ye-jin and Kim Sang-kyung in the lead roles. It was released in theaters on December 25, 2012.
Crime is present in various forms in North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Yeonmi Park is a North Korean defector, YouTuber, author, and American conservative activist, described as being "one of the most famous North Korean defectors in the world". She fled from North Korea to China in 2007 at the age of 13 before moving to South Korea, then to the United States. Park made her media debut in 2011 on the show Now On My Way to Meet You, where she was dubbed "Paris Hilton" due to her stories of her family's wealthy lifestyle. She came to wider global attention following her speech at the 2014 One Young World Summit in Dublin, Ireland. Park's memoir In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom was published in September 2015, and as of 2023 has sold over 100,000 copies. During the 2020s, she became a voice for American conservatism with speeches, podcasts and the 2023 publication of her second book, While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in America.
Coin Locker Girl is a 2015 South Korean crime thriller film written and directed by Han Jun-hee, starring Kim Hye-soo and Kim Go-eun. It was selected to screen in the Critics' Week section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Veteran is a 2015 South Korean action comedy film written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. It drew 13.4 million admissions, making it the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in South Korean cinema history. Veteran also won the Casa Asia Award at the Sitges Film Festival.
Descendants of the Sun is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, and Kim Ji-won. It aired on KBS2 from February 24 to April 14, 2016, for 16 episodes. KBS then aired three additional special episodes from April 20 to April 22, 2016, containing highlights and the best scenes from the series, the drama's production process, behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries from cast members and the final epilogue.
V.I.P. is a 2017 South Korean crime-action thriller film directed by Park Hoon-jung and starring Jang Dong-gun, Kim Myung-min, Park Hee-soon and Lee Jong-suk. In the film, officers from South Korea, North Korea and Interpol chase after a serial killer suspect.
The United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea is a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) tasked with relations with South Korea. It conducts propaganda operations and espionage and manages front organizations, including the Chongryon.
The Burning Sun scandal, also known as Burning Sun gate, was a 2019 entertainment and sex scandal in Seoul, South Korea, which involved several celebrities, including Korean idols of popular K-pop groups, and police officials. The allegations of sex crimes added to the country's "epidemic" of what is called molka, a Korean word for the online distribution of nonconsensual sex videos taken of women, and the scandal became fodder for political parties, who argued over how to handle it.
Events of 2020 in North Korea.
Escape from Mogadishu is a 2021 South Korean political action thriller film, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and starring Kim Yoon-seok, Zo In-sung, Heo Joon-ho, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim So-jin and Jung Man-sik. The film, based on real events, is set during the overthrow of Siad Barre and the two Koreas' efforts to be admitted to the United Nations in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It depicts details of a perilous escape attempt made by North and South Korean embassy workers stranded during the conflict.
Many North Korean women fall victim to human trafficking upon migrating to the neighboring country of China. North Korea's discrimination of women in the workforce, the traditional familial view of women as a burden, and the region's ever-increasing poverty serve as factors that motivate them to migrate to their neighboring country to find a better life. China's one-child policy decreased the amount of women in the country, growing the demand for trafficked sex workers and brides. As of 2020, an estimated 80% of North Korean defectors were women, 60% of whom were sold in China's extensive human trafficking network. Women and girls who are trafficked are bought by cybersex brokers, sold into marriage, and forced into prostitution. As of 2023, there are up to 500,000 such women and girls in China's northern provinces of Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang, where human trafficking industry exploded, reaching $105 million per year. North Korea's punishments for defectors and China's lack of legal protection for North Korean refugees force women to withstand abuse to avoid facing deportation.
